In a state dominated by Democratic lawmakers, Fresno’s two-term Republican mayor Ashley Swearengin faces an uphill climb in her race for California State Controller.
A Field Poll from last month had her trailing her challenger, Democrat Betty Yee, nearly 2 to 1, and the share of registered voters in California strongly favors the Democratic Party — Republican voters make up just 28.4 percent of the electorate, while Democrats make up 43.4 percent.
Swearengin admits …

The LA Supervisors are a powerful bunch, running a $26 billion budget for a county of 10 million people, and overseeing county employees in public safety, public health and social services. Two candidates on the November ballot are hoping to win a seat at that table: Santa Monica Mayor and councilman Bobby Shriver and former State Legislator Sheila Kuehl. They’re campaigning to represent L.A.s Third District, which stretches from the San Fernando …

President Obama exited Los Angeles just as he came in: making money for Democrats, and migraines for West LA drivers.
In his 24 hours here, the president toured a business in Santa Monica, speaking about an economic recovery for millennials, designated as national monument 340,000 acres of San Gabriel Mountains land and attended two separate fundraisers.
One of which was at actress Gwyneth Paltrow’s home.
Obama has attended 30 fundraisers in Los …

It’s Hard Not to Go to the Polls When a Generation of African-Americans Risked—and Sometimes Lost—Their Lives to Get You There
When we were growing up in South Los Angeles, my siblings and I often heard my dad’s impromptu sermons about matters of importance: the value of education, the perils of purchasing on credit, the virtue of hard work, and the dire necessity of voting.
“People …

Republican candidate for Governor Neel Kashkari says he feels good about his chances. That, despite being behind in the polls (Gov. Brown is leading 57-36 percent) and having a lot less money than the incumbent ($680 thousand to Brown’s $20 million).
Below, he speaks to Warren Olney on Which Way LA? and tells him, “We’re focused on getting our message out, more voters think the state is headed in the wrong direction …

Note: We will be updating this post as with KCRW’s election coverage in the lead-up to the election.
When is the election?
Tuesday, November 4, 2014. Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
If you have a mail-in ballot, it must be received by election day. Ballots can be returned to county election offices or to any polling place within the voter’s county on Election Day. Here’s …

In 2009, overcrowding in California’s prisons had gotten so bad—140,000 inmates crammed into prisons built to house just 80,000—that federal judges ruled it violated prisoners’ civil rights. Under order to reduce the state’s prison population, Governor Brown introduced realignment in 2011, a plan to send nonviolent inmates to county jails and probation departments rather than prison.
This year, a federal court gave California two more …

Hundreds of federal agents descended this week on downtown Los Angeles’ Fashion District, making arrests as part of what prosecutors say is a sophisticated operation to launder money for Mexican drug cartels.
Authorities took 9 people into custody, and seized more than $90 million.
Federal prosecutors are calling it “Operation Fashion Police”.
Joe Mathews, from Zocalo Public Square, and Joe Mozingo, who reports for the Los Angeles …

On this first Friday of the month, we got a jobs report from the Labor Department. A lackluster one, nationally, for sure.
But here in Los Angeles, there’s some optimism from city officials and state lawmakers about film and television production jobs sticking around instead of being exported to other parts of the country.
The California legislature passed a bill that gives $330 million in tax …

The Los Angeles Unified School District has scrapped the $1 (B) billion effort to provide all students and teachers with iPad tablets and laptops.
Embattled Superintendent John Deasy says he wants to gather new bids for future phases of the program.
Which is spin for this plan isn’t working.
The change comes in light of alleged improprieties in the awarding of the original contracts with Apple and …

“Wait, Daddy,” you say.
You are 5, and you have your priorities. You are reassembling the wooden train tracks. You are building an airplane hangar out of MagnaTiles. You have a drawing you need to finish.
“Hurry up, Ben” I always say. Don’t you know that I have too many things to do? Don’t you know I need to put you to bed? Can’t you see …

The state Legislature has approved a ballot measure that would ask voters two years from now whether California schools should ditch English-only instruction. It’s the latest in a series of victories for Latino lawmakers in Sacramento this Legislative session.
If Gov. Jerry Brown signs the measure and voters approve it, students who speak a foreign language could receive instruction in their native language, at least …

Los Angeles County CEO Bill Fujioka will retire in November, after more than seven years as the county’s top official.
Abby Sewell reports for the Los Angeles Times.
She says the county CEO has purview over 100,000 county employees and budgets and whatnot, but gets little attention aside from political writers and journalists.
Citing frustration with “the pace of reform”, Los Angeles County Supervisors scaled back Fujioka’s …

A Los Angeles City Council committee has voted to conduct a pilot program to replace some problem sidewalks, with a material that’s a bit more resilient and porous.
Those are things like rubber, crushed asphalt, or decomposed granite.
Adrian Glick-Kudler, senior editor at Curbed LA, says the idea is that the more porous the material, the more water that material will allow to seep into groundwater …

Dave Zahniser reports for the Los Angeles Times. Alan Ohnsman is with the LA Bureau of Bloomberg News, who covers Tesla.
This week the LA City Council nixed their push for a half-cent sales tax increase to pay for more than 8,000 miles of much-needed street repairs.
City Council members Mitch Englander and Joe Buscaino dropped their ballot measure proposal that would’ve raised the city sales tax rate to 9.5 …

Gene Maddaus is reporter for the LA Weekly, and Seema Mehta joined us from the LA Times to talk elections and Sheriff’s Department.
Last Tuesday was primary election day in California and a handful of other states across the country.
With candidates from both parties on the ballot, in a new, open primary.
Governor Brown won big in the gubernatorial contest… and he’s set to take on Republican …

Neel Kashkari isn’t taking much time to savor his victory. The moderate Republican beat Tea Party Assemblyman Tim Donnelly in this week’s gubernatorial primary. Now Kashkari is setting his sights on the general election this fall. But he starts out as a huge underdog in his bid to unseat Gov. Jerry Brown.
Yesterday Kashkari called for unity in the Republican Party. And he tried to …

Turnout was expected to be low for yesterday’s election – but the actual numbers may be even more dismal than anticipated. Preliminary results for the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder show that barely 13 percent of us took the time to vote: 13.19 percent, to be exact. About 4.8 million county residents are registered, but just 636,000 people cast ballots in the primary. More than a …

On this day in California, we’re finding the connection between money and politics is as hazy and blurry as its ever been.
That money, for the most part, comes from fundraising. Although some candidates have their own cash and donate to their campaigns.
But a new non-partisan, non-profit website based out of Berkeley connects political donations with political action. And how all that money – billions …

Nearly 18 million California voters are registered to vote in today’s primary election, more than ever before. How many of those folks will actually go to the polls or send-in ballots remains to be seen. With no presidential race and no high-profile ballot measures, some poll watchers are predicting dismal turnout. But those who do vote have a lot to consider today. From Washington …